# Okayama International Circuit

Okayama International Circuit (岡山国際サーキット), formerly known as TI Circuit Aida (TIサーキット英田) before 2005, is a 3.703 km (2.301 mi) private motorsport race track in Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. TI was the abbreviation of "Tanaka International" after the name of the golf club owner, Hajime Tanaka, though the name of the circuit was officially "TI Circuit Aida".
As well as hosting racing events, the circuit has rental facilities including bikes and go karts available.

## History

The course was opened in 1990 as a private motor racing track for the wealthy. Soon, it hosted its first race, staged by veteran British drivers.
In 1994 and 1995, the TI Circuit hosted the Formula One Pacific Grand Prix; both events were won by Michael Schumacher in his early title-winning years. This race made Japan one of only nine countries to ever host more than one Formula One event in the same year (Autopolis was planned to host a second Japanese race in 1993, but it never came to fruition). It was discontinued primarily due to its location in a remote area of the country. The event was also planned to host a race of the 1996 International Touring Car Championship season in August to replace the F1 race, but the race was instead moved to Suzuka Circuit, held in November.
In 1999, defending JGTC GT300 champion Shingo Tachi was killed when he tested a GT500 Toyota Supra after he suffered from a technical failure that prevented him from slowing down for the first turn. Although there was no driver fatality in the JGTC or Super GT race events beforehand, the incident occurred almost a year after Tetsuya Ota's near-fatal, fiery accident at Fuji Speedway.
In March 2003, the Tanaka International Company, parent company of the official circuit owner TI Circuit Company, applied for civil rehabilitation. After the application, Unimat Holding Co., Ltd. announced that it would financially support the TI Circuit Company in keeping the facility open. The company was renamed Okayama International Circuit Co., Ltd. on May 1, 2004, and the circuit was renamed Okayama International Circuit on January 1, 2005.
On October 26, 2008, the circuit hosted a round of the Formula V6 Asia and FIA World Touring Car Championship. The WTCC race was the first FIA world championship race since 1995. However, it was announced on June 21, 2010 that Suzuka Circuit would host the Japan round of the 2011 WTCC season instead of the Okayama International Circuit.
On March 3, 2012, Unimat sold the circuit to Aska Corporation, an auto parts manufacturing company.

## Events
### Current

* April: Super GT
* May: Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, Formula Regional Japanese Championship
* June: Super Formula Lights
* August: GT World Challenge Asia, Japan Cup Series, Ferrari Challenge Japan
* October: Super Taikyu, MFJ Superbikes

### Former

* Asian Le Mans Series
** 1000 km of Okayama (2009)
* F4 Japanese Championship (2015–2019)
* Formula BMW Pacific (2009–2010)
* Formula One
** Pacific Grand Prix (1994–1995)
* Formula Toyota (2005–2006)
* Formula V6 Asia (2008)
* Japan Le Mans Challenge (2006–2007)
* Super Formula Championship (2007–2008, 2015–2020)
* TCR Japan Touring Car Series (2019–2020, 2022–2023)
* World Touring Car Championship
** FIA WTCC Race of Japan (2008–2010)

## Lap records

The outright unofficial all-time track record is 1:10.218, set by triple-world champion Ayrton Senna in a Williams FW16, during qualifying for the 1994 Pacific Grand Prix. As of September 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Okayama International Circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
| Grand Prix Circuit: 3.703 km (1990–present) |||||
| Formula One | 1:14.023 | Michael Schumacher | Benetton B194 | 1994 Pacific Grand Prix |
| Super Formula | 1:15.237 | Nick Cassidy | Dallara SF19 | 2020 Okayama Super Formula round |
| Formula Nippon | 1:19.345 | Satoshi Motoyama | Lola FN06 | 2008 Okayama Formula Nippon round |
| Super GT (GT500) | 1:19.710 | Takashi Kogure | Honda NSX-GT | 2018 Okayama GT 300 km Race |
| LMP1 | 1:20.561 | Jonny Cocker | Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 | 2009 1000 km of Okayama |
| LMP900 | 1:21.298 | Hiroki Katoh | Zytek 04S | 2006 Okayama JLMC round |
| Formula Three | 1:21.380 | Álex Palou | Dallara F314 | 2017 1st Okayama Japanese F3 round |
| Super Formula Lights | 1:22.281 | Iori Kimura | Dallara 320 | 2022 Okayama Super Formula Lights round |
| LMP2 | 1:24.948 | Matthieu Lahaye | Pescarolo 01 | 2009 1000 km of Okayama |
| Super GT (GT300) | 1:26.304 | Naoya Gamou | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | 2017 Okayama GT 300 km Race |
| Formula Regional | 1:26.614 | Yoshiaki Katayama | Dome F111/3 | 2021 Okayama FRJC round |
| Superbike | 1:28.153 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2017 Okayama All Japan Road Race Championship Superbike round |
| GT3 | 1:29.089 | Shinichi Takagi | Ferrari 296 GT3 | 2024 Okayama Japan Cup Series round |
| Porsche Carrera Cup | 1:29.161 | Tsubasa Kondo | Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cup | 2022 Okayama Porsche Carrera Cup Japan round |
| Formula Renault 3.5 | 1:29.311 | Earl Bamber | Tatuus FRV6 | 2008 Okayama Formula V6 Asia round |
| GT1 (GTS) | 1:30.359 | Carlo van Dam | Saleen S7-R | 2009 1000 km of Okayama |
| GT2 | 1:32.136 | Dirk Müller | BMW M3 GT2 | 2009 1000 km of Okayama |
| Formula 4 | 1:32.202 | Ritomo Miyata | Dome F110 | 2017 Okayama Japanese F4 round |
| Supersport | 1:32.794 | Keisuke Maeda | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 2017 Okayama All Japan Road Race Championship Supersport round |
| Ferrari Challenge | 1:33.242 | Yuga Furutani | Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo | 2024 Okayama Ferrari Challenge Japan round |
| Formula Toyota | 1:34.021 | Tsubasa Abe | Tom's FT30 | 2005 1st Okayama Formula Toyota round |
| GT | 1:34.335 | Atsushi Yogou | Porsche 911 (996) GT3-R | 2003 Aida JGTC round |
| Formula BMW | 1:34.388 | Facu Regalia | Mygale FB02 | 2009 Okayama Formula BMW Pacific round |
| Group A | 1:36.281 | Kazuyoshi Hoshino | Nissan Skyline GT-R BNR32 | 1993 Okayama JTCC round |
| TCR Touring Car | 1:36.706 | Anna Inotsume | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 2023 Okayama TCR Japan round |
| GT4 | 1:36.732 | Daiki Fujiwara | Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport | 2024 Okayama Japan Cup Series round |
| Super 2000 | 1:48.767 | James Thompson | Honda Accord Euro R | 2008 FIA WTCC Race of Japan |
| Motorcycle Circuit: 3.747 km (2020–present) |||||
| Superbike | 1:29.889 | Yuki Okamoto | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 2024 Okayama All Japan Road Race Championship Superbike round |
| Supersport | 1:35.235 | Kengo Nagao | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 2023 Okayama All Japan Road Race Championship Supersport round |
| Moto3 | 1:39.740 | Hiroki Ono | Honda NSF250R | 2024 Okayama All Japan Road Race Championship J-GP3 round |